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Chilean Miners Rescued; Christine O'Donnell's Debate Performance; Housing Crisis on Horizon?; Countdown to Election Day; Police in Mexico and U.S. Continue Search Body in Falcon Lake; Vice President Biden Confirms He Will Be On Presidential Ticket in 2012
Aired October 14, 2010 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Now on CNN: The government bailed out not you, but the banks, and now they may have screwed up again. And the value of your home could be in trouble. And that's just the start. It's the big story.
(voice-over): Homeowners, pension funds and other investors, even if you never went through a foreclosure, you could pay the price for this mess.
The ascent from darkness to light.
MARIO SEPULVEDA, RESCUED MINER (through translator): I was with God and I was with the devil. But God won.
LEMON: Now their new reality: the money deals, the babies, the wives, and the mistress.
Did Christine O'Donnell change any minds with this performance?
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: This election cycle should not be about comments I made on a comedy show.
LEMON: Will she catch Chris Coons in the polls, 19 days lefts until Election Day?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't hear much of substance from Miss O'Donnell. Mostly, I heard attacks.
LEMON: Who won the nationally televised debate?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. Welcome. Thanks for joining us. I'm Don Lemon.
The big story right now: The banks are saying everything is fine, but today we're reading increasingly dire predictions about the mortgage industry, including comparisons to 2008, in other words, the meltdown.
This is one of several quotes that caught my eye this morning as we were researching this story. It's from "The Washington Post." And it cites an analyst who talks of "a kind of doomsday scenario pitching the markets back into crisis, very much like 2008."
Once again, that's what he says.
And, for goodness' sake, Let's hope not. Let's hope that doesn't happen. But, truth be told, some of the elements here sound disturbingly familiar. And, once again, we're talking about home foreclosures, about mortgage-backed securities.
And, once again, we're talking about potential wrongdoing on Wall Street. All right, the trigger for all of this, guess what? Recent disclosures of lenders cutting corners in their rush to foreclose on homes.
Now, are homeowners being victimized here? That's not yet clear. But let's look at the bigger picture here. If corners are being cut, that could open up claims by people who lost fortunes when their mortgage-backed securities crashed, claims against the banks, claims that could reach, who knows, into the trillions of dollars. As we say, who knows.
And that brings us back to another spooky word. And that is uncertainty. We hate to hear that word.
Our chief business correspondent, Mr. Ali Velshi, is here.
Ali, did I lay that out correctly?
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you did. You -- you did.
The -- the -- the person who gave that quote, the analyst who gave that quote to "The Washington Post," you know, one of the things about being a doomsayer is, if you get it right, you're -- you know, you're a soothsayer. You can see into the future. It's not -- this is not like that.
The -- the people who are affected by this crisis are everybody who shares in the economy. These wrong -- these affidavits, these documents that the banks didn't get right, it's not going to fundamentally affect the number of people under foreclosure.
What it means is that, if you were getting kicked out of your house, you may stay a little longer. You may not. It's not really going to affect the numbers of people who are getting their homes foreclosed. It is going to slow the process down. It's going to slow the recovery down a little bit, not going to have a -- a major impact on the economy. It will have some.
LEMON: So, it's really putting off the inevitable --
VELSHI: Yes.
LEMON: -- and dragging out the process --
VELSHI: Dragging it out. That's right.
LEMON: -- and dragging other people --
VELSHI: And that's annoying. That's -- that hurts everybody.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: I mean, that is bad.
LEMON: Yes, by this, you're dragging more people into it, people --
VELSHI: That's right.
LEMON: -- people who don't even have foreclosure problems.
VELSHI: Absolutely.
LEMON: Right.
VELSHI: This affects a lot of people.
First of all, if you drag out the economic recovery, people who were otherwise going to get jobs, that is going to slow them down.
LEMON: Yes.
VELSHI: If I am -- if I am trying to sell a house, I'm now sitting around saying, this is going to take me longer because it's -- it's going to take longer for all these foreclosed homes to sell.
LEMON: And this is why I'm saying this, because people may be sitting around watching this newscast, saying, I don't have foreclosure problems.
VELSHI: Right. Right.
LEMON: This isn't going to affect me.
VELSHI: In fact, it -- you're the least of --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: If you're getting your house foreclosed, this affects you the lease --
LEMON: Huh.
VELSHI: -- because you're still going to get foreclosed on. It's just going to take a little longer.
LEMON: Very well-put. Don't go anywhere, because I want to read -- let me read this quote to you. And this is from another person. This is -- this has to do with how homes are being foreclosed, and the author is really, really steamed about this. Here's what he says. He says: "The absurdity of illegal activity, criminal conduct, rampant fraud has reached a point where the nation must declare no more. We must begin the process of identifying criminal actors and prosecuting them. The latest twist on the foreclosure fraud, the hiring of untrained, incompetent burger- flippers" -- this is what he calls them -- "to act as lawyers or paralegals in the process -- in the processing of foreclosure."
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Who is that crazy person who wrote that?
LEMON: That --
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: That is from financial analyst Barry Ritholtz. He wrote that for his very influential blog.
And there he is right now. He joins us now live from New York.
So, Barry, explain to us what -- what is fraudulent about what the banks have been doing so far?
BARRY RITHOLTZ, CEO, FUSION IQ: Sure. Let -- let -- let's be clear.
This actually -- the person involved the least of this are the people who are being foreclosed on. What we're talking about is due process, rule of law, and respecting property rights.
Imagine -- you -- you were talking about the issue of whether or not we're going to delay the foreclosures a little bit for the people who are in the houses. You're absolutely right about that. The problem is, the banks have been so reckless, they have been foreclosing on people who don't have mortgages, who bought their house for cash.
The wrong bank has been foreclosing on -- on a given mortgage. The wrong house has been foreclosed on. And that's because the process that's in place to make sure that foreclosures are legal and the right person, the right house, the right bank, the right mortgage note is done, all that's being done on the cheap, in the fast.
LEMON: But --
RITHOLTZ: It's being rubber-stamped. The same way we put people in -- in houses, with reckless lending, now we have reckless --
LEMON: OK.
RITHOLTZ: -- foreclosures.
LEMON: All right, Barry, I want to -- I want to jump in, and I want Ali to jump in.
Ali, you and I talked about it.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEMON: And, basically, we said, not that there's -- I want to know --
VELSHI: Yes.
RITHOLTZ: -- because he's saying that people were wrongly foreclosed upon. Is there any evidence of that? Because, basically --
VELSHI: There -- there -- yes.
LEMON: -- this is what we did in the newsroom today. This is what happened. Instead of reading, they sort of rubber-stamped it. It doesn't mean that --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Right. Right.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Somebody has to check that, right? If somebody has -- gives you stuff and you say it and something goes wrong --
LEMON: They just stamped it.
VELSHI: Yes. Barry -- Barry is overstating the point.
Let me tell you, yes, there have been people who have been thrown out of their houses, the wrong houses. That's not actually what this is about. That's -- that's a different story. There has been absolute mangling and mismanagement --
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: No, no, that is -- that is exactly --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Barry, you're overstating the point.
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: That is precisely what this is about.
VELSHI: No, no, it's not. It really --
RITHOLTZ: No, no, no.
VELSHI: -- isn't exactly what it's about.
RITHOLTZ: This is precisely what it is about.
VELSHI: No, no, it's really not.
RITHOLTZ: If the law is being followed --
VELSHI: Barry, you can keep on saying it is, and I will just keep on saying it's not, and, ultimately, one of us --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK. Let me do this.
RITHOLTZ: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Barry, Barry, Barry --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: -- why are you fear-mongering? Why are you fear- mongering?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: That's not what it's about. There are some people --
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: I'm not --
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: I'm not fear-mongering.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Barry, let me finish my sentence.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Let me finish my sentence.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Barry -- can somebody mute him for a second?
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: Understand what happens --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Ali, Ali, hang on a second.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Barry, Barry, Barry -- (CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Stop. Stop for a second. Just stop.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: -- hang on a second.
Here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to let Barry -- you say why not. And Ali Velshi is here with me. He will get the last word.
Go, Barry.
RITHOLTZ: Well, very simply, a foreclosure is like a closing.
Remember, when you buy a house, you -- you spend an hour signing documents, initialing things, making sure that it's the right house, that full title passes, that all the legal steps are taken to make sure that you are the owner of that house.
A foreclosure is that process essentially in reverse. Only, it's involuntary. So, you have things like attorneys attesting to: "I have reviewed this note, and, yes, it's the right note. I have reviewed the property. Yes, it's the correct property. I have reviewed the last payment. It was June '08. The person is in default."
If a person that's supposed to do that -- and that process takes a half-hour, an hour -- if we find out from Wells Fargo and Chase Manhattan that they were signing off on 400 of these a day, you can't possibly review 400 of a day.
VELSHI: Right.
RITHOLTZ: Maybe you could do eight or 10.
LEMON: OK.
VELSHI: Totally right.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: OK, Barry.
RITHOLTZ: So, we know the process --
VELSHI: Completely agree with you, Barry.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: All right, Barry, now it's time for Ali.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Let Ali get in here. VELSHI: All right. I -- I agree with what how Barry has laid that out. That makes sense.
The bottom line is what we don't have is a sense that that's actually happened. What we know is that people actually went through these forms and -- and -- and went through them faster than they should have. When they didn't have the right form, they may have invented it.
It doesn't -- we -- we really don't have any examples, Barry, in this allegation that anybody was kicked out of a house they shouldn't have been kicked out of or anybody was foreclosed upon with the wrong -- the wrong name or the wrong house.
RITHOLTZ: That's not true.
VELSHI: Not -- it's happened, but not because of this, Barry.
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: "The Sun Sentinel" had one in Florida.
LEMON: Barry, let him finish.
RITHOLTZ: You had one in Texas.
LEMON: Let him finish.
Go ahead.
VELSHI: Barry, we have had a whole -- we have had a few of these incidents around the country, but that is not -- the -- it's not a same cause and effect. It could have happened --
LEMON: And, Ali, here's what you were saying.
VELSHI: -- but it hasn't happened.
LEMON: Even without all of this, what they found, that people --
VELSHI: Right.
LEMON: -- were rubber-stamping them. There are people who are foreclosed upon, a small number --
VELSHI: Yes.
LEMON: -- every year accidentally.
VELSHI: Right. Right. Right. And that's what I'm saying.
Barry is making it sound like this is somehow going to cause a whole bunch of people to say, hey, wait a minute. I wasn't supposed to be foreclosed upon.
Just not true, Barry. That's -- I -- I get your point. The banks shouldn't have messed it up. They shouldn't have done this. And -- and they should be --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: They should be dealt with harshly.
LEMON: OK. Listen, Barry --
VELSHI: But I don't think you are going to see a whole bunch of people saying, you see, I told you I wasn't supposed to be thrown out of this house.
RITHOLTZ: But it's already happened. You have had people thrown out of houses.
LEMON: That's where that -- Barry, it's going to have to end it there. But we can agree to disagree here. So, let me jump in here and control this.
Give me your -- worst-case --
RITHOLTZ: Well, no, we can't agree to disagree.
LEMON: I want your worst-case scenario.
RITHOLTZ: There are facts. And people have been tossed out --
LEMON: Barry, hang on one second.
RITHOLTZ: -- without mortgages.
(CROSSTALK)
RITHOLTZ: That's a fact.
LEMON: You have to be respectful of the time we have here. We don't have very much time. We want to inform the viewer. We don't want to talk over, so they can't hear.
Give me the worst-case scenario for you.
RITHOLTZ: For me?
LEMON: Yes.
RITHOLTZ: The worst-case scenario is, we ignore property rights in the United States, and that the rule of law that's been established for hundreds of years in the U.S. is ignored, and, essentially, we grant banks the ability to act above the law.
I -- I think that's important.
LEMON: All right, Ali, go -- go for it.
VELSHI: Worst-case scenario is that it takes a long time to get through all of these files that the banks rushed through, and it delays the actual foreclosure, the sale of those houses, and it ends up taking us too long to get out of this mess that we're in.
But I'm agreeing -- I'm in agreement with Barry that the banks should be dealt with harshly on this.
LEMON: Man, who would have thought that, you know, we would be talking about the economy here and we get this heated? Usually, it's politics. Usually, it's the left vs. right.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: But we can agree to disagree.
And we want to thank Barry Ritholtz.
We appreciate you coming on. Barry, we will get you back on, because I -- interesting topic and very discussion, as always.
VELSHI: Give him my phone number. We will finish this conversation on the phone.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: As always, Ali Velshi, our chief business correspondent.
RITHOLTZ: I will send you an e-mail. I will give you a couple of lists of people who have been foreclosed on.
VELSHI: All right. Good. OK.
LEMON: Thank you, guys.
See, they're friends now.
VELSHI: There you go.
LEMON: Thank you, sir. Appreciate it.
VELSHI: All right.
LEMON: I will see you tomorrow, OK, Ali?
VELSHI: OK.
LEMON: All right.
Listen, we're going to move on now, because we're going to talk about, a year ago, would you have thought that a Nevada Senate seat would be in play and that a political unknown with the gift for gaffe, not gab, would be mounting such a challenge against Harry Reid?
There is a crucial debate tonight. And Jessica Yellin is there live with a preview.
The first full day of life outside the Chilean mine. Look at that. What has it been like for these 33 men? And here's a question that's on everybody's mind, but everyone is afraid to ask, but I will. What about the one with the mistress? An update next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know, it's really amazing. What a difference a day makes. Remember, we were sitting here and we were counting and watching the drama and the emotion yesterday as those miners started to ascend out of that, what they called they were sort of entombed down there in that small, cramped space.
But guess what? It is the first full day of freedom for 33 men in Chile. And take a look at this picture. These miners showed off their hospital outfits today when they reunited for the first time since their rescue.
And notice they still have to wear those special sunglasses to protect their eyes from the light, the ones that were sent by Oakley sunglasses, donated to them. Most of them expected to get out of the hospital today.
So, here's a question. What a whirlwind this has been, trapped underground for 69 days, with the whole world watching, wondering how you're doing and if you're going to make it out alive.
I want you to just watch as the last trapped miner surfaced topside late last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(WHISTLING)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING SPANISH)
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(WHISTLING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, that guy right there, that's the mine foreman, Luis Urzua, as he surfaced late last night to the biggest reception really of all the men. He is the one who kept the group alive by creating a small city in only 500 square feet of cramped space.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LUIS URZUA, RESCUED MINER (through translator): These 70 days that we -- we fought so hard were not in vain. I think, the first several days were -- I can't even explain it. But -- but we had strength. We had spirit. We wanted to fight. We wanted to fight for our families. That was the greatest thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, that strength and spirit that she spoke of -- or that he spoke of -- that was a translator there -- is what we witnessed for weeks as the men waited for rescue.
And while the 33 men were still trapped, they drew up a contract to stop any one individual from profiting at the expense of the group. They will share the proceeds from the story of their ordeal, and at least one book deal already in the works.
So, listen, I want to read off everything they're going to do. And get your popcorn, because they have got a lot of offers.
A reporter covering the rescue for Britain's "Guardian" newspaper is set to release a book in early 2011. And according to the magazine "Broadcasting & Cable," the miners have been fielding offers for beer commercials and TV interviews. And Spike TV is getting ready to launch a mining reality show.
I see some heads shaking right here in the studio.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Now, for just a few of the goodies that are being offered to them, Real Madrid and Manchester united have invited the miners, many of whom are soccer fans, of course, to watch them play in Europe. That should be really fun. They will enjoy that.
And they will each get a free iPod from Apple. And, as a sign of how popular the miners are, the hot costume this Halloween is expected to be -- you guessed it -- a miner.
Let's move on now and talk about what's happening in this economy. Even royalty has to scale back when times are this tough. We will tell you what the queen has canceled. It's enough to make you say, bah humbug. That was just a clue right there.
The most powerful Democrat in the Senate vs. a novice with the backing of the Tea Party movement, you might think that that kind of matchup makes for a blowout, but 19 days until Election Day, it's one of the closest races in the country. Jessica Yellin caught up with both candidates. Hear what Harry Reid and Sharron Angle told her next.
In this corner, Harry Reid, in this corner, Sharron Angle, Jessica in the middle.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Boy, it's getting close, less than three weeks until election, and there's an eye-popping story out of Nevada. That's where a familiar figure is locked in the race of his life.
And I'm talking about none other than Harry -- Harry Reid, who is the Senate majority leader. But get a load of this. Reid's opponent, Sharron Angle, has just reported a whopping infusion of campaign cash. Angle is saying that she raised more than $14 million from July through September. That's a big amount of money. And that would be the second biggest quarterly haul in a Senate campaign history, second only to none other than Scott Brown in Massachusetts last year.
In this current cycle, Angle took in nearly three times as much money as anyone else who is running.
Jessica Yellin went out to Nevada to try to catch up with Sharron Angle and Harry Reid.
So, Jessica, you know what? Sharron Angle really has been, quite frankly, evasive when it comes to talking to us and to the media. Did you find her?
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I did, Don, but it was a little bit of a game of hide and go seek. That's what it felt like.
And I'll tell you, I have never been through anything like this in my years as a political reporter. We -- she doesn't frequently talk to the press. We asked -- we got a tip where she would be. And we waited there. We went about an hour early, open, in the public, not trying to hide or surprise anyone.
And as the event got close, a car that had her in it came. We started walking after it. We weren't going to chase her -- no reason to. But, then, all of a sudden, the car hit the floor -- you know, floored it, took off, and our cameraman saw her parked behind some bushes down the road.
The next thing we know, somebody from her campaign comes up to us, tells us she's running late. And then we find out, during that time, Sharron Angle actually got to the site, snuck in another door and was already inside.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right, hold on.
YELLIN: So, that was --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: It -- this sounds like -- I feel like I'm watching a -- a crime, like a -- a crime show on television --
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: -- with the car chase and everything.
(CROSSTALK) YELLIN: It felt like a "Scooby-Doo" mystery.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: We were on the trail, you know, of an invisible candidate.
But, you know, to their credit, her campaign -- her chief communications director did show up, saw we weren't leaving, and said, "You know what, we will talk to you," and brought us in, and let us ask her some questions. There were two print reporters with us, too.
We asked about her position on Social Security, which has changed, and a number of issues. But the most interesting to me is, she has said that there is Sharia law in two places in the United States. This has been widely refuted by the mayors of those towns. So, I asked her, what is her proof that this exists?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: What's -- what's your evidence, what's your proof that there's Sharia law in the U.S.?
SHARRON ANGLE (R), NEVADA SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: All I had was just some articles that I read that there were some things that were happening that indicated that there might be something like that going on.
I'm not a -- of course, an expert in what goes on in -- in any municipality, but, certainly, I believe in the freedom of religion.
YELLIN: Well, the critics have said statements such as the one you're making -- you have made about Sharia law and others indicate that you're not a credible candidate for the U.S. Senate.
Are you a credible candidate? What do you say to critics?
ANGLE: Well, certainly, the people of Nevada think I'm a credible candidate. I -- I won the primary. I have the largest fundraising numbers in the history of a Senate race in this United States. So, I think that America, as well as Nevada, has spoken about the -- the candidacy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Don, she and Harry Reid face off in their one and only debate of the campaign tonight. And we will hear a lot more about those positions as she tries to bring them out --
LEMON: Wait. Jessica --
YELLIN: -- when they..
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Before -- don't go anywhere, though, Jessica, because I want to know, did you catch -- you tracked her down. Did you track down Harry Reid?
ANGLE: I did. I did.
We talked to Harry Reid about -- asked him about that, asked him -- he, though, by the way, granted us an interview. When we called and said, where would he be, they gave us his schedule. He has lots of public appearances. And -- and we didn't have to chase him.
He did speak to us about that. And I asked him, look, this $14 million fund-raising haul that she's brought in, that's pretty impressive.
Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: Election in Nevada is not going to be decided by how much money someone raises. It's going to be decided on who can connect with the people of the state of Nevada.
Is it someone who wants to phase out Social Security and Medicare, who wants to say that -- doesn't want to say -- she says that renewable energy jobs -- and there's thousands of them in Nevada right now -- are designer jobs? She mocks the people who are working on renewable energy jobs.
Right now, the economic return on these jobs is already $2 billion. And she makes fun of them. Is that extreme? I think so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, she would refute some of those claims and will tonight in the debate.
But, Don, I -- I also asked him, you know, why is this such a close race for him? He's the Senate majority leader and he's neck and neck with a woman who's not nearly as well-known as him. So, he -- he answered that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REID: It doesn't give anyone solace or comfort when I tell them, gee, I -- we -- we lost eight million jobs. I have got 3.5 million of them back. It doesn't give them any comfort when they're -- they have lost their job, or afraid they're going to lose their job, their home is underwater.
But fact is, we avoided a worldwide depression. That's a fact.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: So, Don, this state, you know, has the highest unemployment rate in the nation. And that is part of what is making this such a challenge for Harry Reid and this election so close. They are truly neck and neck -- Don. LEMON: And, plus, he's probably in that, you know, whole -- whole incumbent thing that's going on around the country, the "throw the bums out" attitude that many voters have.
ANGLE: Right.
He's the face of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Senate. And he is the face of the stimulus to folks here. And he's the face of so much -- of health care reform. And if they don't like that, they're blaming Harry Reid for a lot of it, and that's what he's up against in this race.
LEMON: Jessica Yellin, good reporting. You got both of them.
And of course Harry Reid is going to talk, because he's in the fight of his political life, so he's going to do the interview.
Appreciate it, Jessica.
Coming up here on CNN, we are going to talk about Tiffany Hartley. She says that she watched her husband die on a lake that straddles the U.S. and Mexico. Now some believe his death might have been a case of mistaken identity. We will look into that theory coming up.
And the threat of a nor'easter leads to travel warnings. Look at all those planes in the sky. Flight delays are already feared from D.C. to New England and beyond. We will take a look at where the worst weather is expected and who can expect problems at the airports, possibly on the roads -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: you know what? It's not even winter yet, and a significant nor'easter may be on the way already. And that could mean delays, delays, delays, not only in the air, but on the roads, as soon as tomorrow.
Chief meteorologist Chad Myers joins me to explain all this.
Chad, most people on the East Coast are very familiar with nor'easter.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Sure.
LEMON: But a lot of people around the country don't even know. Like, what is a nor'easter?
MYERS: Right.
It's an enhanced coastal storm. And nor'easter is used mainly in the winter because there's so much cold air that gets pulled down from the north, and then the air comes off the ocean and then gets mixed in with it.
When you mix the air and the water that's over the Gulf Stream with the air that's coming down from Canada, you can get a major snow event up and down the East Coast with a nor'easter.
Here is the one that's moving up right now. This is Saturday and into Sunday, then finally throughout to Monday, as it pushes its way into Atlantic Canada.
Let's start from the south. We will go to the north. We will start with Washington, D.C., cloud cover for you. Airports are going to be quite slow, I think, in the next couple of days, today, tomorrow and probably even Saturday. Tonight, we start to see the wind pick up. But, right now, at this point, it's just a rain event.
The wind doesn't really get going for another 24 hours.
Switch you to New York City, where it hasn't started to rain really yet, but there have been some showers around the city. And the wind will begin to pick up. Winds in the city could be 40 to 50 miles per hour.
Now, you have to remember, Don, that there has been some wind damage and even some tornado damage around the city the past couple of weeks. And all of that stuff --
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
MYERS: -- has not picked up yet. You could be blowing around some wind and -- and pieces of board and shingles there in the next couple of days.
LEMON: Can -- can I ask you something?
MYERS: Go ahead, buddy.
LEMON: Can I ask you something?
MYERS: Yes.
LEMON: Is this -- is this early? Because, usually, I would expect maybe November, December. It's October, what, 14, and we're seeing a nor'easter already.
MYERS: Well, it's -- it's early for a snowstorm, yes.
LEMON: OK.
MYERS: This will kind of be a mixed, sloppy event for -- for parts of the White Mountains. You have got Vermont. You have New Hampshire. You will probably get kind of a sloppy event, rain-snow mix, maybe some snow, especially Mount Washington. Could be a -- a brutal event up there.
LEMON: Mm-hmm.
MYERS: But, yet, I -- and here are some pictures. Do we have the pictures from the -- the perfect storm?
LEMON: Is the perfect storm? That's what I was wondering. MYERS: Well, you know what? It's --
LEMON: This is the movie with George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg.
MYERS: It's not the perfect storm, because a hurricane or tropical system was involved in this storm.
LEMON: And they all collided at once.
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: And they all collided.
(LAUGHTER)
MYERS: But, Don, back to the maps, guess what. This isn't so far away. It isn't going to happen because it's -- but there is a tropical system down there.
Had Paula run up the east coast another 1,000 miles, then we would mix more tropical air, another low-pressure center with the one that's already going to be there, and then that would have been the perfect storm.
Good news, this is far enough away that that's not going to happen, but that could have been a brutal one.
LEMON: We dodged the perfect storm.
MYERS: Another perfect storm.
LEMON: It only happens once in a while, otherwise it wouldn't be perfect.
By the way, I want to ask, isn't George Clooney on "LARRY KING" tonight? I think he is. He'll be on "LARRY KING"? Yes, I am told. So tune in to "LARRY KING" tonight. Thank you, Chad Myers. Appreciate it.
MYERS: OK.
LEMON: Listen, let's talk about Friday night lights, get a little too hot for the police. We'll tell you why the chief is not pleased with this chopper stunt.
And then later, can you stop your kids from texting? There may be an app for that. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now for top stories here on CNN.
Doctors say the Chilean miners are in good shape. Most of them could be released from the hospital this afternoon. Chilean president Sebastian Pinero hugged each of the miners at the hospital today. He vowed to tighten oversight over the mining industry to create a safer work environment.
Some of the miners are suffering minor medical complications, and one miner is being treated now for pneumonia, but they're all expected to be OK. And that's good news.
Here's not so good news -- foreclosures are hitting a new high even as prosecutors nationwide look into bank dealings for possible criminal problems. Last month more than 102,000 homes were repossessed. More than 102,000 repossessed. It is the first time in a single month that repo numbers have soared past 100,000, last month, not last year.
The company which follows such things Reality Track, says foreclosures jumped four percent in the third quarter in the year, and that means one out of every 139 homeowners got a foreclosure notice. Boy, that's depressing.
Verizon has managed to pry AT&T's exclusive grip off of Apple's iPad. The company announced today it will begin selling the popular computing tablet as its -- at its retail stores before the end of the month. Verizon Wireless will offer three iPad bundles, which include the device and mobile plans and prices ranging from $630 to $830.
Consumers will also have more access to the iPad at discount retailers like Wal-Mart, Target, and Best Buy. So there you go.
So the first rule of robbery is probably should be to hold on to your weapon. What happens if you don't? That's ahead. We'll show you.
An investigation on a border lake heats up. The alleged killing of a man and now a report of mistaken identity, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. This one really is a murder mystery. And there is a new twist in the bizarre shooting of a Texas man believed killed by pirates while riding jet skis with his wife. It might have been a case of mistaken identity in a turf war between Mexican drug cartels. They don't know exactly what happened.
But now a bloody damage control effort could already be underway. That's what sources are telling a global security think tank that specializes in the drug war that has claimed thousands of lives just south of the U.S./Mexico border.
Ed Lavandera in Texas now, he joins us now. Ed, what do those sources say happened? Do they know exactly what happened?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a -- their theory that they've put out there and essentially we've spoken with the sheriff of Zapata County just up the road here where Falcon Lake. He says that, look, he's unable to confirm everything that is in there. He hasn't heard it. He's just having a hard time even talking to any of the Mexican investigators on the other side of the lake to find out exactly what's going on. But essentially what this report is saying is that the body of David Hartley after he was killed was essentially disposed of immediately, probably burned. And according to the sheriff, that's -- he thought that at this point that is speculation based on what has happened many times in similar kind of instances.
He says it's not out of the realm of possibility when these situations happen bodies are disposed of quickly and they're disposed of in gruesome ways. And so he has no reason not to believe it, but he says he hasn't seen any hard evidence that that is exactly what's going on at this point.
LEMON: The question is, then, I'm sure there are reports and speculation about what happened to David Hartley's body.
LAVANDERA: Exactly. That was -- that's the mystery at this point. Based on what we know so far and what Tiffany Hartley, her husband, has -- his wife has told investigators here on the Texas side is that, you know, he was shot once. The sheriff believes he was shot once and fell into the water.
She was unable -- she's a very small woman, unable to get the body on her own jet ski. And she made it out of that area when all of this happened. So what happened after that at this point is unknown.
And, remember, just a couple of days ago, the lead investigator on the Mexican side, his head turned up in a suitcase delivered to an army office on the other side of the border. That is clearly a message. It is something that has been done in the past. That is a message to investigators to back away, to stop investigating, to stop asking questions. That, you know, that sends a chilling effect down through the ranks.
LEMON: So, you know, his wife was with him. And what is she saying? What does she have to say about the latest developments, if anything?
LAVANDERA: Well, you know, what's really interesting for Tiffany Hartley is last Wednesday about eight days ago, she met with the lead investigator that was murdered. So she said that she had met at a border checkpoint, not too far from where we are here. The investigator spent an hour talking with her. We asked her how she thought that meter went.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIFFANY HARTLEY, MISSING MAN'S WIFE: I met him. He sat right next to me. We talked through a translator. And he just seemed like a really good guy who really wanted to just do good for his, you know, his country.
LAVANDERA: But do you worry that the next person is going to say, hey, I saw what happened to the guy before me. I'm not interested.
HARTLEY: It is. It definitely makes me worry that nobody is going to want to take over. But right now they're still searching. And until, you know, they decide that, you know, they need to back off or whatever, until that day comes. But right now, we're still asking, please search for David. Please find him so that we can go home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: The other thing that's very difficult here is that it's become impossible to get any kind of credible information from about what's going on in this investigation from the other side of the border. We had spoken with this investigator that was murdered a few days ago. After that it has been kind of silence and very difficult to get anything of substance from the other side.
In fact, the sheriff here in Zapata County was saying that he had been trying for days to get a hold of any kind of police commanders to find out about how the search, the simple search was going. The only information he received so far is that Mexican divers that had gone into Falcon Lake are no long diving. But he has no idea what the status is as far as the rest of the search continues in that area.
Remember, this area on Falcon Lake on the other side is believed to be heavily controlled by drug cartel organizations. So anyone who approaches that area is considered a spy.
LEMON: Thank you, Ed Lavandera. The mystery goes on. We appreciate your reporter. After David Hartley disappeared on Falcon Lake, his mother made a tearful plea to the U.S. government and to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in particularly to help find her son.
And she says she didn't get a response. That's until now. The secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was asked about the case this morning in an interview on "Good Morning, America." Watch what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I hope that we can. I mean, the beheaded body of the brave Mexican investigator that just showed up shows what we're dealing with. We are helping. The United States government is supporting local law enforcement, supporting the authorities on the border, doing everything that we know to do to try to assist in helping to find the body and helping to find the perpetrators.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We will follow on that story.
But still ahead here on CNN, here's a question for you. Did last night's Delaware Senate debate give Christine O'Donnell some momentum? A chance to really close a gap in the polls? We'll see. And how did Chris Coons do with his national exposure? That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Just 19 days from today, Americans will cast their votes in the midterm elections, and the very control of Congress may be at stake here.
One of the most watched contests is the Senate race in Delaware, a race where Republican candidate Christine O'Donnell trails her Democratic opponent Chris Coons by 19 percentage points. Last night, the Delaware Senate debate aired live right here on CNN and it was a crucial chance for O'Donnell to attempt to chip away at her opponent's lead.
I want to play a little bit of the debate for you right now. And this is the point where the candidates were asked about the Supreme Court. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Obviously the United States senator has the opportunity to determine in a way the makeup of that court. So what opinions of late that have come from our high court do you most object to?
CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, (R) DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: Oh, gosh. Give me a specific one. I'm sorry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, I can't because the -- I need you to tell me which ones you object to.
O'DONNELL: I'm very sorry. Right off the top of my head, I know that there are a lot, but I'll put it up on my Web site. I promise you.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": We know you disagree with roe versus wade.
O'DONNELL: yes, but she said a recent one. Roe versus Wade, that's 30-some years old.
BLITZER: Any other Supreme Court decisions?
O'DONNELL: Let me say, Roe versus Wade, if that were overturned would not make abortion illegal in the United States. It would put the power back to the states.
BLITZER: But besides that decision, anything else you disagree with?
O'DONNELL: There are several. When it comes to pornography, when it comes to court decisions, not just Supreme Court but federal court decisions to give terrorists Miranda rights, I mean, there's a lot of things that I believe that -- this California decision to overturn don't ask, don't tell. I believe there are a lot of federal judge whose are legislating from the bench.
BLITZER: That wasn't the Supreme Court.
O'DONNELL: That's a federal judge in California.
BLITZER: Which Supreme Court decisions do you disagree with?
CHRIS COONS, (D) DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: The most recent one that I've been engaged in, we've talked about, is Citizens United. I think that Citizens United takes sort of a logical extension in the law, but takes it to a ridiculous extreme. Corporations aren't entitled to the same free speech rights as people. And in Delaware, America's corporate capital, you would think we would be fighting for the rights of corporations.
But in terms of political contributions, the free speech rights of corporations I don't think deserve the same protection as the free speech rights of real, living, breathing, voting humans. So I would disagree with that decision and I would act to try to find ways to limit it, narrow it, or even overturn it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So we told you Christine O'Donnell was 19 percentage points behind Chris Coons, her opponent there. So did she do enough to help her poll numbers?
Next hour I will ask the very question to the man who co- moderated that debate. You saw him there in that video clip, talking about Wolf Blitzer. That's in the next hour right here in the CNN newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What's going on? We were like, all, all the screaming? What is that about? It makes us wonder is the beef that good or is it that bad? That's right, all that shouting and yelling is for beef. Why? It's a story you've got to see, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So surprised, we have all seen police choppers flying around at traffic accidents and at crime scenes. We have all seen it. But this one will surprise you. You have got to see this.
An Albuquerque police chopper hovering over a high school homecoming game? OK. It even dropped a package, hard to make it out, but it is a football attached to a tiny parachute. Kids and fans were thrilled, they just went crazy. But not the police chief, not so much. He did not approve of this stunt. So, we will see who's in trouble.
Oops, police say the teenaged driver in Iowa -- look at that car -- he took a snooze behind the wheel and the only thing that stopped the car was that utility pole. That is quite a wakeup call, isn't it? The vehicle is almost upright. Amazingly, the driver woke up and walked away unhurt. The crash knocked out power lines -- or power, I should say, to 300 homes in the area. Bad teenager.
OK. Here is a story you got to see and hear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Sounds like my mom and grandma used to call me for dinner. Don, time to come eat. That was loud, wasn't it? Did you hear that? This is part of an annual beef eating and shouting event in Japan. Hundreds of participants shouted their wishes after eating a meal of local beef. One proposed marriage, another good health and some, really, just screamed.
That was a good try, but the top prize went to a 40-year-old woman who yelled at about 110.8 decibels. Whoa. That is about as loud as a car horn. And I don't mean one of these little car horns.
There you go. You recognize him. That is rapper T.I. T.I. to the rescue -- the rapper helped police resolve a crisis. But will that earn him any points with the judge who could send him back to prison? I will ask him live straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. You know, just 19 days until Election Day. It is time for a look at the latest campaign developments, including the Obama team keeping the dynamic duo together in 2012.
CNN's got all -- we have all your latest political news with "The Best Political Team on Television." There is the leader right there, I like to call him leader, Wolf Blitzer at the CNN political desk. Wolf, nice job last night. But first, what's crossing?
BLITZER: What's crossing on the political ticker right now, a couple of -- a lot of good items, but let's begin with the vice president Joe Biden confirming to what a lot of us suspected, that he would, of course, be on the ticket with the president when he seeks reelection in 2012.
The vice president telling the "New York Times," I will read it to you, he says, "I tell you what. There is real trust. That's why he has asked me to run again." Biden went on to say, "Look, we are going to run together. Are you going to run? Of course you want me to run with you? I'm happy to run with you."
So the vice president telling the "New York Times" he will be happy to run as vice president once again with the president for reelection in 2012. Remember, there have been some I guess commotion in the past few days after Bob Woodward suggested in an interview with CNN's John King that the option of putting Hillary Clinton on the ticket was on the table, but that's being shot down not only by officials at the White House --
LEMON: Wolf --
BLITZER: Yes?
LEMON: Is this coordinated? Is this the White House trying to really squash with the talk about that, about Hillary Clinton being on the ticket in 2012?
BLITZER: Yes, I think it is. You make a good point. They didn't want that to have any legs. In fact, right after it was said, I was getting calls from White House officials and from aides to the vice president and others saying that's ridiculous. He is going to be on the ticket it is not going to be Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton is the secretary of state.
Now there is some suspicious after Bob Gates leaves the defense department, he wants to give up his job as secretary of defense, maybe Hillary Clinton could move from the State Department over to the Pentagon, but that's totally other matter.
The vice president now making it clear and officials confirming to CNN that it should be obvious to everyone this will be another Obama/Biden ticket in 2012.
Let's move on to Bill Clinton right now. He is out campaigning for Democrats across the country in New Mexico right now. And during our hours "THE SITUATION ROOM" between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. eastern, he is going to be speaking in New Mexico, campaigning for the Democratic lieutenant governor who wants to replace Bill Richardson as the next governor.
Diane Denish, she has a tough challenge from Susannah Martinez, the Republican candidate. We will watch and dip into and monitor what Bill Clinton is saying in New Mexico, see what he has to say.
By the way, Sarah Palin is going to be speaking during our hours as well. We will monitor what she is saying as well.
Finally, something that is really nice -- and they do this often -- over at the White House, this is right now Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And at 6:30 p.m. Eastern tonight, also during the second hour of THE SITUATION ROOM, we are going to see something extraordinary over at the White House. They are going to light the White House in pink to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We will show you that to our viewers as well.
We have got all these items on the Political Ticker at CNNPolitics.com.
Don, always a lot of politics going on.
LEMON: And breast cancer, that's a very important topic to raise awareness to. One of my friends here in the newsroom, Sharon Black (ph), came in today, Wolf, and she had dyed her hair pink, pink highlights for that cause. BLITZER: Yes.
LEMON: Yes, to raise awareness. And she's walking in a march as well.
BLITZER: Happy to help in that.
LEMON: Thank you, Wolf Blitzer. We appreciate it.
And, as Wolf said, another political update in about 30 minutes. You can always get the latest political news at CNNPolitics.com. And on Twitter, it is @PoliticalTicker.
